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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Happy Sadie Hawkins Day!

Dear Readers:

Today is February 29th, commonly known as Leap Day or - in some circles - Sadie Hawkins Day! Many people think that the tradition of Sadie Hawkins Day started with American cartoonist Al Capp, but the truth is that the tradition of women asking me to marry them goes back several centuries. The first recorded celebration of what we now call Sadie Hawkins Day goes back to the 13th century - long before Sadie Hawkins' ugly mug graced the comics pages of American newspapers!

According to Irish-Catholic legend, St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about having to wait so long for a man to ask for her hand in marriage. St. Patrick then gave permission for women to ask the man of their choice to marry them on February 29th (I suppose because it only came around once every four years, meaning the lady in question had probably been waiting some time!).

Old English Law held that February 29th was not a legal day, so citizens reasoned that tradition could be tossed out that day as well! As Leap Day existed to fix the problem of a broken calendar, it could also exist to fix the problem of unequal customs that favored men over women.

Whatever you choose to call this day - Leap Day, Sadie Hawkins Day, or St. Bridget's Day - celebrate in style! Ladies, approach that man you have been pining for (you don't need to propose marriage, just a date!); gentlemen, be aware that the woman who just asked you to join her for coffee may be interested in getting to know you better! As for me, I already have an aggressive female cat in my life; so just for today I will stop hiding under the deck when she comes looking for me! Just for today, though! Tomorrow, all will return to normal - including the AskTazi! entertainment that you have come to expect!

Snuggles,Tazi

Ask Tazi! is ghostwritten by a human with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications. Tazi-Kat is not really a talking feline.